I just checked the website, and it seems that Freespire, essentially, *IS* Linspire without a CNR subscription; correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there is a "Linspire" branded version without it.

"You've got to wonder; if one can get Linspire for free (or almost) without CNR subscription, where does Freespire fit?"

Well over the last few weeks I've noticed comments on the Linspire boards that Linspire was geared toward OEM machines with Linspire pre-installed. Then yesterday's announcement flat out says that in it. Linspire has everything to gain from this because they are far behind the other distros in terms of being able to support newer hardware. Their last "update" took them forever and a day to even acknowledge that they were behind and even that doesn't work on a lot of hardware. So basically they're hoping the community does their work for them and then the oem/retail versions will be based on what the community builds out of it.

Will it work? I don't think it has a cold chance in hell. Linspire ticked off and turned away too many Linux purists that pointed out their problems early on that they couldn't get them to hack on it if they paid them.

I guess their business model is going through a slight change. They must've come to the conclusion that they can give the OS away and charge for the CNR subscription. This could be a very smart move, helping their distro by setting it into the wild free and than getting some returns ($) for unique features such as CNR. Their market share will hopefully increase... and if they play there cards right, could become the big player in the Linux world that they are dying to become.

Business models commonly evolve in order to take advantage of new opportunities.

I think this could be a good move. If the user likes CNR during the 30-day trial period with Freespire, they can opt to get a Standard or Gold CNR Subscription. If the user subscribes to CNR, that's $ for Linspire.

If they really want to get some attention, they should have a bundle of CDs burned & distributed to stores like CompUSA, Best Buy, Staples, and others that sell computers & computer products. Since only a small percentage of people purchase s/w via on-line sales, a good way to get the word out could be as, 'freebies,' in the stores.

This is a good thing. Last time I saw Linspire was version 5.0, and I must say it had some very nice polish to it. Granted, it was too candied up for me to like it, especially I'm a Gnome guy here. But It did look nice from boot up to full use it just had a very nice all around look and feel to it that few linux distributions (including Ubuntu) don't quite have yet.

The question is, will it literally be Linspire - CNR? If so that would be the best, since that's the one reason I think Linspire is horrible. Apt was meant to be free.

1. Click the Applications menu.
2. Click the Add/Remove... menu item.
3. Click a category (Games, Internet, Sound/Video, etc)
4. Browse the list of applications in that category. You can read about what each application does.
5. Click the checkbox next to an application you wish to install.
6. Click OK and enter your password when prompted.

Based on the screenshots of CNR on Linspire website, it does look "better" (more information, some screenshots of the app, etc).

I'm not sure that makes it easier to use though - I'd actually be inclined to think its harder for the new user, since it appears to have far more functionality than the Ubuntu offering and following Gnome's lead*, we all know functionality is the first step towards confusion

No, not a mole within the community. The abandonment of freedom for convenience, the compromising of ethics, the wholesale sellout that is being advocated, the attempt to coopt development for short-term gain.

You're a bit confused about the concepts of property and freedom. I have a car, and I can tweak it to do anything I want it to. I'm also free to use it for anything, including commercial use. The seller of the car doesn't get the right to impose restrictions on me.

"If not then how the hell can you or the Groklaw weenie justify that kind of pointless superfluous idiotic attack on someone who is trying to advance Linux usage, and OSS as a whole." Perhaps the same way someone such as yourself can sell your soul for temporary convenience at the expense of true freedom when closed binaries are "good enough" in the near term for those of similar sight? Accepting whatever scraps are tossed your way to appease you is NOT the way to advance Free software.